Hays recruitment, one of Britain’s largest recruitment companies, announced that they expect Public Sector jobs to grow and help support their business over the next year.

Over the last 12 months up to the end of June, Hays has billed £670.8m for placed candidates, this is a drop of 18%. Pre-tax profit dropped by 43%, to £151m. Hays were forced to cut 1250 staff and close 43 offices during the economic downturn.

The recruitment agency has now said that the shortage of staff in education and healthcare sectors has meant that there will be a strong need for temps and perms in these sectors over the next year. This statement is a stark contrast to a report issued by the Department of Health, which claimed that the health service needs to cut 10% of its jobs over the next 5 years to meet the £20bn efficiency savings plan. This is undoubtedly a tall order, which hopefully will not compromise service levels within the NHS.

Alistair Cox, chief executive at Hays added that the market was stabilising including the City, but that unemployment will continue to rise over the coming the year.

Hays also reported that the number of British workers looking to work overseas had increased by 20%, which is quite a large increase. Many seem to be going to Australia and New Zealand, which may be a sign of much of the younger worker force deciding to use this economic downturn as a chance to look for work and life experiences elsewhere.